


Available for Adoption: Reese

by alltoseek



Series: Available for Adoption [2]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dogs, Angst, But that's canon, Dog!Reese, Gen, Reese is a hero, Reese is a rescue dog, What else is new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 11:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10244630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltoseek/pseuds/alltoseek
Summary: Reese requires a confident hand on the leash, and firm guidance with boundaries. His new family will need to provide him with plenty of exercise and supervised opportunities to direct his high energy level!aka the dog!AU, because who doesn't want to rub Reese's belly and tell him what a good boy he is?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alcyone (Alcyone301)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alcyone301/gifts).



> So many thanks to my betas, alcyone301 and feroxargentea, who patiently follow my fics even into fandoms they're not in themselves <3 <3 <3

# Available for Adoption

 

## Reese

 **Species** : Dog

 **Breed** : Doberman/Husky mix

 **Age** : Four years

 **Gender** : Male

 **Size** : Large

 **Coat** : Medium double-coat

 **Color** : Black/Tan/Agouti

 **Activity** **Level** : High

Reese is a handsome, healthy, intelligent, active, and extraordinary dog who requires an equally active, experienced, and extraordinary family!

Description: Reese has the size, general shape, and some of the black and tan coloring of a Doberman Pinscher. However, his coat is longer and thicker than that of the smooth-coated Doberman. Additionally, mixed in with the black is some white speckling. His eyes are the startling blue often found in the husky.

At one time Reese was “de-barked”, so his vocalizations are soft and raspy.

Health: Reese is a fit and healthy dog. When he came into the shelter, he was underweight; however, he has a healthy appetite and his steady diet here has brought him up to his “fighting weight”. His coat was ragged and matted, but again, with a one-time grooming and regular brushing, he is now one gorgeous animal!

Personality: Reese is a high-energy dog who is often on the lookout for opportunities to exercise his intelligence and his strong body. He prefers to be active and if not provided with direction will often undertake his own explorations.

Reese will chase cats, but doesn’t hurt them when he catches them. Once or twice when he has escaped the shelter, he has returned holding a cat in his jaws. The cat was spitting mad, but unharmed.

Reese is not dog-reactive, but he doesn’t socialize much with the other dogs. He tends to ignore play invites, and a simple lift of the lip deters the most persistent.

The exceptions are puppies. Puppies bring out Reese’s playful side, and sometimes his protective nature as well. He will play (gently, aware of his large size compared to most puppies) with them when invited. He will also monitor their interactions with each other and with other adult dogs, intervening only if one dog becomes too rough with another.

Qualities Needed in Family: Reese needs a home with experienced dog owners. He requires a confident hand on the leash, and firm guidance with boundaries. Reese has clearly received obedience training in the past, but will need a refresher course with his new family members. His new family will need to provide him with plenty of exercise and supervised opportunities to direct his high energy level!

 

~~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~~

 

 

> #  _Hero Dog Or Hell Hound?_
> 
>  
> 
> _W Clarksville, Sept. 16_ \- A local youth, 16, was severely bitten on the hand by a large stray dog last night.
> 
> “This huge dog just come up out of nowhere and bit my hand!” said the teenaged boy. “It hurts like crazy! I might not be able to write again, the doctor says.”
> 
> Two friends, 16 and 17, were with the youth at the time of the incident. They have not been reached for comment.
> 
> A fourth boy, 13, was also present. He was unfamiliar with the other teenagers. “I was walking down the street minding my own business, when these three punks start hassling me for no reason. They started taking swings at me, kicking out at me. I ducked down into this doorway, trying to keep from getting hurt, and then this big dog come running up. He got between me and the bangers and was snarling and snapping at them. I’m glad he was on my side or I would be lying in the hospital right now.”
> 
> A fifth youngster, 12, was in his home across the street and observed the altercation. He used the camera on his cell phone to capture the scene on video.
> 
> “I had just started recording when I see one of the big teens pull out a gun,” reported the boy _[names of minors are withheld by editorial policy]_. “I was really worried and I was going to use the phone to call 911, but then I see the dog jump up and bite that punk’s hand! I heard the gun go off but I didn’t see anyone get shot.”
> 
> When police arrived on the scene, the 13-year-old youth was with the dog. Both appeared calm and uninjured. A gun was lying on the sidewalk nearby. “I didn’t touch it,” said the young teen. “Nobody touched it after the banger dropped it, until the police showed up and took it.”
> 
> The three older boys had run off. The one who had been bitten was contacted at the hospital where he was being treated. The other two have not been reached as of press time.
> 
> “The dog has been impounded and will be quarantined for a minimum of 10 days,” said Detective Jocelyn Carter, who had taken charge of the scene soon after the arrival of the police. “This is standard procedure in case of a bite by a stray dog.”
> 
> “That dog is a monster and a hazard to the public!” declared the mother of the bitten youth. “It should be put down immediately! It should have been shot by the police as soon as they got there.”
> 
> The mother of the 13-year-old defended by the stray had a different view. “That poor dog is a hero! He saved my son’s life. We would love to adopt him ourselves except our apartment doesn’t allow pets. I hope he finds a good family. Any family would be lucky to have him looking out for them.”
> 
> _[footage of the incident recorded on the cell phone is available for viewing at this newspaper’s website.]_

 

~~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~~

 

Carter heard Dispatch’s call of “shots fired” and “dog bite” come over the radio. Since she was in the neighborhood, she decided to head to the scene. With Animal Control’s budget gutted, the number of stray and loose dogs had been climbing. Teenage punks would chuck rocks at them, goading the poor animals into biting, and then some of the responding unis had started using the troublesome dogs as target practice.

This scene was no different. Animal Control might show up “sometime this evening,” they said. None of the unis wanted to try collaring the stray; they’d prefer just to shoot him. Carter rolled her eyes at them and approached the large ragged mutt, who was sitting calmly. She placed a leash on him, no problem; he was perfectly cooperative. She took a swab of the blood on his lips for evidence, the dog obediently holding his mouth open for her, panting and grinning.

According to policy, she was supposed to take him to Animal Control’s pound, but they’d just put him down. They didn’t have any patience or room or funds for stray dogs that bite. Instead, Carter called the local humane society, who agreed to take him if she could bring him by. He’d still need to be in a 10-day bite quarantine, but that wasn’t a problem for them.

“He’s definitely been trained before,” she told the shelter intake staff. “He was fine with me. But then, I haven’t drawn my weapon or pointed it at anyone. Maybe he doesn’t like guns.”

 

~~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~~

 

The shelter read a microchip that had been implanted in the dog, but it appeared to be corrupted somehow. They got the name “Reese” and some numbers, but not a telephone number or company name or other contact info. None of the microchip companies had a record of any dog like this large mix or with info like his chip displayed.

Without any other information to go on, the shelter decided to call him “Reese”, the only name on the chip.


	2. Chapter 2

Theresa poked her head into the recovery room, and saw that it was empty. She gestured for her friend, behind her in the hallway, to come in with her.

“Are we allowed to be in here?” Deke asked. Like Theresa, he wore over his t-shirt and jeans a smock with words in large block print: “SHELTER VOLUNTEER”.

‘Here’ was a smallish room, with several occupied kennels on one side, and a counter with cupboards above and below on the other. On the opposite wall was a door with the sign:  **MEDICAL STAFF ONLY** .

“Yeah, we just can’t go into the surgical area,” answered Theresa, pointing to the door opposite. 

She crouched down next to Reese’s kennel to open the cage door, and started petting him. He turned his head so she could get at the good spots behind his ears.

Deke watched cautiously. He’d seen the cellphone vid and the pic of the kid’s hand after it had been bitten. “You sure about this?”

“Oh, look at him - he’s a sweetheart! Just don’t go pointing any guns around him, ‘K?” She laughed.

Deke crouched down next to Theresa and carefully reached in a hand to pet the dog too. Reese was grinning, panting; he seemed very happy to have the attention and affection.

Suddenly all three stopped, and raised their heads to listen. Reese’s mouth closed and he cocked his head. They could hear footsteps approaching from the medical area on the other side of the closed door.

“C’mon, we gotta go,” said Theresa. She closed the kennel door carefully to keep it quiet, and then the two exited the room through the door they came in, back into the hallway. 

On Reese’s kennel door was a large sign:

# AUTHORIZED

# STAFF ONLY

## BITE QUARANTINE

##  NO VOLUNTEERS

**Restricted diet - no treats**

_Do NOT insert fingers or any-_

_thing else through cage bars!!!_

 

~~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~{``}~~

 

Reese thought about leaving during his period in quarantine. The latch was simple enough to work. During the many boring hours he idly practiced working it open using his dewclaw and forepaw. For a challenge he tried it with his teeth, or tongue. 

So he could have left easily enough. But there wasn’t much waiting for him out of the kennel. More hunger, more cold, more hard streets. Here he was warm, and fed, and had soft blankets and even chew toys. And people - people who  _ liked _ him, even. He liked the people. He liked the days, where he could hear and watch and smell the people going by or in the other areas, and he could smell and hear and sometimes see the other dogs, too. 

He wasn’t allowed out of his kennel, but there was a run in the back where he could sniff the outside air, and they cleaned it once a day, so the smell of his own filth didn’t get too bad. Also, sometimes the people going back and forth in front of his kennel would stop and give him quick pets. Also treats on occasion, in between his twice-daily meals ( _twice_ a day! Two times!!!)

The people who stopped often had a furtive, guilty air about them, which at first made Reese a bit uncomfortable. But after a time he realized no one ever yelled at  _ him _ about it, so he decided to let the humans worry about it. Humans had all sorts of rules that didn’t apply to dogs, like dogs had rules that didn’t apply to humans. Reese had long ago given up worrying about human rules for humans, as the dog rules were enough of a challenge for him to decipher.

So although it was a rather boring time, stuck in the kennel, observing but not doing, Reese decided to stay. To enjoy living in comfort, at least for a while.

For a while, at least, until they figure out what a Bad Dog he is, and kick him out, like everyone else had.


End file.
